Nazar Bonjuk is a Turkish good-luck “evil eye” charm.
The “evil eye” superstition is on the basis that one person can put a spell on someone else. The evil eye was started by Anatolian to prevent the spells, and these evil eyes were placed in homes, near doorways, on peoples handbags or clothing to watch over the person for safety. The evil eyes today are most common to be found in a blue glass with an inner circle in white with an eye on top of the white inner circle.
Robert is Turkish and although his main residence is in the United States he has spent a large portion of his life in Turkey. He first learned this superstition as a young child because many people still have the evil eye in their homes. This is particularly interesting when looking at it from an American stand point because we do not have very many superstitions that are still taken as seriously.
When I researched Anatolian, it found it to be defined as region surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea, the black sea, and the Aegean Sea. This is mainly associated with Turkish and Greek Culture.
I find Nazar Bonjuk to be a sort of oxymoron. The term evil eye is usually associated with something bad, but in this case it is a good luck charm. I interpret this to mean that you are turning the evil eye on others in order to keep away bad fortune and spells. This brings up another interesting fact that the Turkish have a belief in spells, which you rarely see in America. Turkey is a very modern place today and many of the people do not admitted believe in charms and spells. But, the fact that people still keep Nazar Bonjuk in their homes shows that there is still some sort of residual belief and respect for the tradition.